摘要
The idea of the hypothetical Magellanica Continent(Terra Australis Incognita)was introduced into China by the Jesuit missionaries during the seventeenth century.While not accepted by the Chinese government,it was affirmed and transmitted to the public by a few Chinese scholars,including Feng Yingjing,Cheng Bai'er,Zhang Huang,Xiong Mingyu,Xiong Renlin,You Yi,Zhou Yuqi,Jie Xuan,Wang Honghan,and Ye Zipei.Most of them communicated closely with the Jesuit missionaries,and several even helped the missionaries compose the maps.The concept was updated progressively by Matteo Ricci,Giulio Aleni,Johann Adam Schall von Bell,Francesco Sambiasi,and Ferdinand Verbiest.Chinese scholars copied the missionaries'relevant maps and textual introductions without much modification.However,they paid little attention to advancements in the idea,and many of them circulated outdated knowledge.It was not until the middle-and late-nineteenth century that Chinese scholars reexamined the correctness of this hypothetical continent.
17世纪,天主教耶稣会传教士将假想的墨瓦蜡泥加洲(南方未知大陆)这一概念传入中国。这一概念并未得到中国官方的认可,但是一部分中国学者接受并传播了这一概念,这些学者包括冯应京、程百二、章潢、熊明遇、熊人霖、游艺、周于漆、揭暄、王宏翰、叶子佩等。他们大都与传教士有密切交往,有的还协助传教士编绘地图。传教士利玛窦、艾儒略、汤若望、毕方济和南怀仁等对墨瓦蜡泥加洲这一概念不断更新。中国的学者则对传教士的地图和图说进行了传抄和简化,但是他们往往只传抄过时的知识,很少关注到墨瓦蜡泥加洲这一概念的更新。直到19世纪中晚期,中国学者才关注到了墨瓦蜡泥加洲这一假想大陆的真实性问题。
